After reading about the latest product recall, “Tortillas recalled after illnesses at schools” (Nov. 14), we discovered several packages of the suspect product in our freezer.

I returned them the following day to the market where we bought them. I had no problem getting a refund, but was troubled by the total lack of awareness of the recall. I admit there was a definite lack of communication because of language differences, but I still feel somehow the system is flawed. Is it the manufacturer’s, the government agency’s or the wholesaler’s responsibility to alert retailers about problems?

I recommend that you say your prayers before your meals and hope for the best.

DAN SCHAFFER

St. Paul

Less light,

more love

I love the spirit of Christmas. I would never do anything to dim it. I also, like most of you, care about the environment. Electricity is primarily generated by coal-fired power plants, and they pollute our environment.

My power company says, “It’s time to switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs.” We did it. We will not put up outdoor lights this Christmas, and we will have an indoor tree without lights if we have one.

I have a plea for all who put up outdoor lights, both residential and business: Please do not do it. Take the money you save and add it to your Salvation Army, food bank and Habitat for Humanity giving. We added UNESCO and Doctors Without Borders to our “good will to men” contributions. Perhaps one candle in the front window can tell all that you love them!

EARL HALL

Woodbury

Spewing out

the CO2

The formerly conservative Republican governor of Minnesota announces his “green” crusade, to attack environmental threats real and imagined on all fronts simultaneously.

Well, his plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will meet with defeat for a very simple reason: He’s making all of us who actually pay attention to the science of these matters so upset that we are hyperventilating – spewing out enough CO2 to feed the entire Amazon rain forest.

If Tim Pawlenty has his way, we’ll all be rounded up and shipped to the North Pole to be melted for excessive exhaling.

There are a lot of negatives in the world we live in these days, and this is a good example.

JOEL HANKINSON

Lakeville

Isn’t there

enough violence?

I can understand a slow day (or even a slow week) in the news department for a lack of stories that qualify as front-page news, but please … “Ultimate fighting”? Can we stick to putting something with at least a little educational value and intelligence on the cover? Is there not enough violence in society that we need to tell the stories of men and women who enjoy beating the crap out of each other … and for what?

I don’t understand the fascination with this oddity myself but it seems to me the Pioneer Press, an otherwise outstanding newspaper, needs to stick with more appropriate subject matter and stick to reporting the news. This is supposed to be a family newspaper, correct?

T.S. LENZ

Lakeville

Making peace in Pakistan

There is a man with roots from Minnesota who is winning the hearts and minds of people in northern Pakistan, a region that even the Pakistani government can’t control. He is doing it with love and kindness, using only thousands of dollars while our government wastes billions on more bombs and guns. Greg Mortenson is building schools and other projects, and in doing so, he has become a hero and a legend to some people.

Mortenson is a true peacemaker. One can only hope that our leaders will read about his story and learn from him how to make a lasting peace that truly makes us safer. To learn more, please visit www.threecupsoftea.com.

TOM MARTIN

Duluth, Minn.

We need a

‘Buy Nothing Day’

Seems like Black Friday is all about spending money. How about a little coverage on “Buy Nothing Day”?

LYNN TONGEN

North Oaks

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